What was the dress style of old Shanghai?

The dress style in old Shanghai was called Shanghai style. The rise of Shanghai style clothing is an important cultural phenomenon in the process of urbanization in modern Shanghai. It can be said that the costumes of old Shanghai are an external portrayal of the history of cultural changes in modern Shanghai. The formation of Shanghai-style clothing style began in the middle of19th century, that is, at the beginning of Shanghai's opening to the outside world. In the middle of Qing Dynasty, the consumption centers in southern China were in Suzhou, Hangzhou and Guangzhou.

Style characteristics of Shanghai style clothing

Shanghai-style clothing has its own unique style and characteristics. Compared with Beijing-style costumes, which are conventional, implicit and simple, and have official characteristics, Shanghai-style costumes are unconventional, westernized and have a strong commercial atmosphere. At that time, traditional clothing used common fabrics such as silk, cotton fabrics and soft satin, while Shanghai-style clothing used cheap foreign cloth as common fabrics.

Influenced by suits, Shanghai-style clothes tend to be narrow and fit, revealing their figure. The birth of Shanghai-style cheongsam deliberately shows the exquisite curves and wonderful figure of women, which is a typical Shanghai-style fashion. In the way of wearing, Shanghai-style costumes take the road of combining Chinese and western styles.

In addition to its special era and cultural background, the textile industry foundation in Shanghai and its surrounding areas during the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the emerging Shanghai clothing manufacturing industry are also important reasons for the rapid rise of Shanghai clothing.